I've played the drums since I was 5 years old. My paternal Grandfather bought me my first drum set when I was a kid. Remembering vividly when we first visited a local Philadelphia toy store to get the set sticks deep in my memory. It was a sunny afternoon. Who would have known it would evolve into a long lasting musical endeavor. Who would have known I'd be living the GALILEO Mystique for years to come. Playing in a rock and roll band was always something that came naturally. I've been doing it since I first started working in the entertainment and news industries. Drumming has always helped my editing abilities. Cutting to music and having a fervent timing sense has been important when cutting images for documentaries and solo projects. But I never thought I'd be living the life of Galileo during the years of drumming and laying down the perfect timing tracks for so many artists. It has occurred that way. Uncontrolably, not in my power but philisophically mostly the same.
Galileo invented the telescope. He was a remarkable craftsman who proclaimed that the world circled around the sun during a time when these types of ideas were considered blasphemy, part of a heretics thinking....Destined to be excommunicated from the church for proclaiming something that was accurate and proved to be right. His discovery of the truth was a bit ahead of his time. Not many were wanting to hear his proclamation and never wanted to accept his truths....even if they reflected personal and courageous accuracies. Who knew I'd be living the GALILEO Mystique....
I had been playing with a rock and roll band for over 10 years based out of Westfield, NJ. We called ourselves THREAT TO CULTURE and although I didn't think we were conventional as musicians, I felt that with some time and repetition, the music might catch on. My other "mates" in the band were afraid of success. They didn't want to "play out" and were determined to keep the music underground...separated, singled out and isolated from the general public for many years until they began to muster up the courage and fortitude of allowing their original sound to be heard. I would battle constantly with the composers of some of our music to allow me to create drum tracks that worked...bringing their music to the forefront and allowing them to shine. That's what a good drummer does. He or she lays down a beat...a heartbeat....a constant thumping sound that works itself into the music and gets you to listen from your soul...gets you to listen with your heart and fall in love with the music while simply adding a background basic track that supports the body of the work. That's what we do as drummers. That's what we are suppose to accomplish if we are to be successful drumming artists. The music was not all the time sensational while working with TTC but overtime it evolved, it fermented. It became a fine wine. The heartbeat, like a newborn baby was embedded into the tracks and awakened new listeners.
The Threat To Culture years or TTC days as we liked to abbreviate were introspective and long lasting. The writers were at first unconfident with their own abilities and grew into trusting my basic beat sensabilities until we carved a niche into the music making it our own. This drummer revolved around the Sun for over ten years playing various grooves and creating a vibe that was unique to TTC. We recorded constantly and carved a niche as a descent underground progressive rock band from the Northern, New Jersey Area. Local clubs enjoyed allowing us to play our music to semi filled concert halls. I lived to serve. I completed my mission in introducing some rather shy boys into the New Jersey music scene. It was always a pleasure.
After over ten years, it was time. We experienced "personal and creative differences" that arise in any kind of musical or artistic endeavor and it was our moments of clashes that eventually knocked at each other like opposite atoms creating an atomic explosion. Those Catholic Boys just don't get it right all the time....Unfortunately fear reigned on and my stubborness to get us out there to play out more caused the fear to grow. But they did evolve. They did create a sound of their own. I'm so deeply proud of their heroic efforts over the years. It was time to go. We parted ways but the music lives on. I'm so proud of those boys. Yes, yes....Galileo was once again excommunicated from the Catholic Church in the form of Threat To Culture but the music and the great times we shared are forever there for everyone to see and hear. We Rocked! Galileo Rolled!....Another search continues for a new home. Peace and love to my "band mates" of Threat To Culture. It was one hell of a ride....Forever searching.....
JN
No comments:
Post a Comment